High court ruling in Texas case affirms all deserve representation

In a rare unanimous ruling, the U.S. Supreme Court delivered a loud “no” to those who continue to try to limit the democratic process. The court ruled against a Texas group that wanted election districts to be based not on the number residents, but on the number of eligible voters.

This has no small significance. Had the voters challenging the rules won out, and struck down that method for drawing lines, the urban districts where many noncitizens and young people (under the voting age) live would have been weakened, because their populations for purposes of drawing district lines would have diminished. And though the court didn’t rule out other ways of drawing lines, it’s important that it said counting all residents in drawing the lines did follow the one-person, one-vote rules set down by the high court in 1964.

The ruling might have a positive effect elsewhere in frustrating politicians in other states who want to suppress the influence of younger people and minority voters. After its regrettable rulings on political contribution limits and the Voting Rights Act, this Supreme Court ruling at least affirms the fairness in counting everyone, not just eligible voters.

This story was originally published April 6, 2016 at 5:59 PM with the headline "High court ruling in Texas case affirms all deserve representation."